Testing out Microsoft Live.

Does it work?

So I'm picking up the guitar again.  My dark secret is that I'm a frustrated musician and I've always wanted to play the guitar.  I had a bit of a bash at it a couple of years ago, but gave it away from frustration.  I reality I successfully convinced myself that I didn't have the talent to play.

Since then i have a couple of successes due to hard graft, so I thought I'd give it another crack.  Also the time and environment are both right.  Live accoutic music is making a big impact in our lives.  Friends and neighbours play in bands  or run guitar shops, and most weeks we go to a couple of gigs to see local musos.  There are lots of supportive and encouraging people around and I wanted something to replace the overly violent  PC games I was playing.  So the old opportunity / motivation alignement suggested now was a good time.

It's also a relatively cheap recreational activity.  What with a new kitchen and getting a car, and suits wearing out, I'm trying hard not to spend excessively.  And as I altready have a guitar....

Actually I have two.  Both Squires.  The SD6 acoustic to the left, and a splendid cherry red double fat strat not too dissimilar to that shown to the right.  Can't play either for shit, but I was enjoying the electric alot more.  Infact until yesterday I was pondering disposing of the SD6, 'cos it didn't sound nice and didn't feel that great either.  Anyway how can I justify two guitars. 

But before doing anything drastic I though I'd give new strings a go.  So I dropped into see my friends at the Guitar Gallery , and while Kim made me a cup of tea Gerry told me about Acoustic Session strings.  What a difference!  The tone is exactly  what I was looking for and the action seems much improved.

AND TODAY I GOT MY HEAD AROUND THE F CORD!

And I thought all strings were equal.......

. 

harrismint has been sailing with us for a couple of days.  Most  pleasant to see her smiling face again.

It's been a very big year.  I mean if feels big.  I'm relably informed it's actually not much bigger than any other mean solar year, but this one has had a degree of physical and emaotional impact which deserves to give it some degree of acknowledgement. This reflective impact is not lessened by Lowell George plaintifly singing Fat man in te bath tub on the cd.

More Bigness to follow.....

Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuckety Fuck!

Shoes and walking have played a big part of our lives recently. We've re-discovered the joys of bush walking and most recent Sundays have been spent making our way amid gum trees, trying to work out which local fauna crapped on the path. We're carrying a little moe gear than we need, but growing up in the New Zealand bush will do that to you.

Poll #742295 Australias Nuclear Future
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 1

Is Canberra promulgating a debate on nuclear power -

My apologies to nzlemming for cutting his lunch viz a viz the thematic title of this blog but...

Isn't it - for the want of another word - funny  that John Howard and his collegues in Canberra are willing to stop wind farms but are happy to promote nuclear energy? And think of the timing.  Just when Iraq is about to blow up in his face and the Snowy Hydro fiasco is on the news, this masterful piece of political misdirection comes in from left field.

I've always like this photo - I think it has something to do with the subtle pinks and blues that band the image. Also the dead stillness of the lake that so captures the brittle coldness of the day. 

Good enought to test the linkages between Flickr, live journal and the our website - www.randm.net.au.
  The site actually started it all.  It's been looking at me balefully for a few months. Reminding me that it hadn't been updated since July 2005. Asking why I've been spending so much time hanging around other websites and so forth.  So I finally decided to come clean with all the sites and, like some geek Mormon, do the honourable thing b them all.  So now I'm able to post from Flickr to Big Ted's Blog, and then the website will subscribe automatically.

I've also removed the photo galleries from the web as Flickr does it so much better and I don't need to worry about how much disk space is being chewed p on the servers at AVS. 

So hopefully I'll update the site and the blog much more frequently.

Cheers

Matthew

Something I've alwaysbelieved bout my job anf IT jobs in general, but never managed to express as well as Dan......

GFR - of no known LJ sobriquet - flipped me this piece on "Neo Puritanism" fr'm't Observer Guardian like.  Her take of them could be loosely summarised as laudable goals, but don't know that it doesn't take a lot to have a good time. 

These do not sound like fun people.  These are not the kind of people you'd want to pop down to the local to listen to a band with, and I don't imaging they'd do a good line in inappropriate jokes.  In fact they probably don't do any thing they consider inappropriate.  This is ok, but they don't want anyone else doing anything "inappropriate" either.  The right have cloned Doctor Lvov and set him loose to wreck "moral" behaviour on society.

So are you a neo puritan?  I found myself on that b/c cuspe, which I found really quite comforting.

I like it.  Read from the beginning - no skipping now......

I finally took a closer look at what I have been eating all week. 

( Open the stomach )

No, really.......

The day started promisingly enough - the works out side the house subsided during the night.  The ride of the valkeries played as I swooped down King St to the Monash. Spring day. Birds singing,yada yada yada.

blancverse cunningly disguised the "delightfully nutty flavour" by wrapping it in a fabulous salad - the low fat Bulgaria fetta was stunning (along with the kangaroo and the radishes). Special RX suppliment still tastes like vanilla flavoured sawdust. Indulging in nice green tea.

It started off simply enough. I wanted a massage and blancverse suggested the woman she went to. Somehow IU ended up having accupuncture on diverse bodily parts and embarking on a 28 day body cleansing plan and taking a course of chinese herbs. Day one passed pretty easily - 'scuse the pun - aside from a craving for steamed bok choy and oyster sauce.

After day one I have learned:

1.  Never trust anything described as having a "delicious nutty flavour". These are on the label and they tell us lies.
2. When a chinese medicine doctor say the herb will tast bad - believe her. 3.
3. Cleansing's just another word for nothing left to loose.

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